Auckland, 24 March 2009 – The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) backs the government’s firm commitment to improve new legislation requiring action by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to help protect creators’ rights. The industry will work with government and other parties to amend the new law to ensure an effective and reasonable approach.

The government announced yesterday that it will amend new section 92a of the Copyright Act to engage ISPs in tackling online piracy. This follows the failure to achieve a private-sector agreement between rights holders and ISPs on a Code of Practice that would set out the process for implementing section 92a.

Campbell Smith, chief executive of RIANZ, says: “The government acknowledges that New Zealand’s creative industries are suffering because of the impact of online piracy and it recognises that ISPs should play a key role in helping to address the problem.

“The delay required to implement the government’s decision to amend the law is obviously disappointing but that’s a price worth paying if the result is clear legislation that effectively addresses the problem.

“The recording industry worked hard with its partners in the technology sector to supplement the current version of Section 92a with a fair and transparent code for its implementation. The government remains committed to tackling unlawful file-sharing and has decided that it should mandate such a process through legislation. This means we can have a comprehensive approach that covers all players in the telecoms market.”